Tones of Broken Strings
by Serena Of Horror
Summary: Liz settled down in your everyday, career-centered life. But when she meets her old childhood friend and 'rival' Gilbert, her already unstable marriage just plain gets broken down.
1. Prologue

My first story here! Please enjoy, Rate, Review and whatnot.  
><strong>Warning: This is a PrussiaxAustria story. NOT PrussiaxHungary or AustriaxHungary.<strong> No matter how much it may look like this.  
><em>Rating may go up.<em>

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><p><strong><em>Tones of Broken Strings:<br>__Prologue_**

Two little children sat in the sandbox, glaring at each other like all little children do when they're angry or upset, like they had to share their toys against their will, even though sharing toys had nothing to do with the matter.  
>They sat in silence, until the pale-haired kid spoke up. "You're stupid." He said, glaring with his red eyes. "No, <em>you're<em> stupid." The brown-haired kid countered.  
>"Liz, it's dinnertime!"<br>The pale-haired kid laughed as a woman from a house at the other side of the street called for the brown-haired kid. "Ha! Liz? That's a stupid boy's name!"  
>"<em>You're<em> stupid!"

Little would the pale-haired kid named Gilbert know about 'Liz', his new-found rival, until the school they both went to suddenly came with the decision that school uniforms should now be worn. They were only seven by then, how could Gilbert ever have known already?  
>"Liz, why are you wearing a skirt?"<br>"It's the uniform, stupid!" Stupid, a nickname that never had faded.  
>"Yeah, but that's the... Girls.. Uniform.."<br>An awkward silence fell between the two, Liz staring at the ground with glistening, moist eyes, wet with tears.  
>"It's not like I ever wanted this! I'd rather be a boy, you should know, stupid! You should know!"<p>

Gilbert and Liz, there was something between them. Most likely, with a chance of 97%, it was rivalry, but even so Gilbert had his own way of standing up for Liz; especially when he lost a fist fight against her _again_.  
>"Did you lose from a girl? Haha, your whole eye's swollen!"<br>"Hey, shut up! Liz isn't really a 'girl', anyway. No way, she's way too scary for that..."  
>And Liz wasn't exactly treated kindly by other kids, either, and that all just because she didn't always 'act her gender'. It was as if only her rival took her for who she was, especially at the times she found out that all of his bruises were from beating up the other kids bullying her, but no, she'd never tell.<p>

"Liz, I'm...I'm moving back to Germany, tomorrow.."  
>The words came down on the young brunette like a sledge hammer attempting to break down a wall. Why hadn't he told her earlier? She could've apologised for beating him, swearing at him.. But did that even matter now?<br>"I'm going to, like... Pack now. We'll leave early in the morning... So, uhh... This is goodbye?"  
>Liz nodded slowly, not wanting to show any sadness at all. Gilbert held out his hand for her to shake, like his parents had tried to make him do over and over again, but only now he felt like he should at least give it a try. Liz grinned and let a soft, unheard sniffle escape. "Dude, that's not how guys say goodbye, right?" She said as she wrapped her fingers around Gilbert's hand, folding them to a fist. She looked up for a moment, then bumped her own fist against his, a grin on her face, making Gilbert grin in reaction to that. "See, Gil? Isn't that how guys so goodbye? That's how guys say goodbye, I know! Am sure of it!"<br>The very moment Gilbert turned around and walked back inside, Liz let a sniffle break through her facade, a tear escaping her eye as she hurried back inside, ignoring any words from her mother. She didn't know yet that this 'friendship' would change her life completely unexpectedly later on, much, much later.


	2. Chapter 1

Yay, first chapter! :'D Please enjoy, Rate & Review if you have some time~.  
><strong>Warning: This is still a PrussiaxAustria story, not PrussiaxHungary or AustriaxHungary.<strong> I might as well repeat myself. ^^"

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><p><strong><em>Tones of Broken Strings:<br>Chapter One_**

_"Are you sure you'll be fine, Liz?"  
><em>The voice crackled through the phone, the horrible reception twisting the voice into a different pitch, static noises and silences falling now and then. "I'm a responsible woman, Roddy, jeez. I can do some groceries." The brunette grimaced as she spoke the words into her cell phone. "I'm just going to get dinner, cornflakes and some fruit, so stop worrying.."  
><em>"Okay, if you say so. I'll see you later then."<br>_"Yeah, later."

Liz hang up with a sigh, her green eyes staring at the now blank screen on her phone. She shook her head, closing her eyes. Her husband... He was a good man, good to her, too. But he just got so... _Worried_. It was nice to be treated like a woman for once, she wouldn't deny, but she truly missed being 'the neighbourhood terror' at times. Not a single day was boring back then. But oh well, things changed, didn't they? _'One day everyone'll grow up'_ she thought absently as she slipped her phone into the pocket of her jeans, walking into the supermarket.

Liz licked her lips thoughtfully, staring at the pack of cornflakes. Liz wasn't tall, never had been. Maybe, if she stood on her toes...  
>She reached out, as far as she could. Her slender fingers stroked past the packet on the shelf, she could feel the smooth carton under her fingers. Why did they have to make these things so freaking high again? She tried to get a grip on the box, but her fingers weren't long enough, she couldn't curl them around it.<br>The box tipped to the side as if in slow-motion, touching another colourful box right beside it. The other box tipped over on its own turn, but without anything aside it to stop it its fall it flipped over, tumbling down the shelf. The Hungarian desperately tried to grab the falling box, but as it was too far out of her reach she closed her eyes in shock. She could hear the sound of the cardboard hitting something, the crackling noise of cornflakes spilling, a sudden swear from a person and a heavy sound of something hitting the floor, soon followed by something that sounded like a huge water balloon breaking.  
>"<em>Scheiße!<em> Hey, watch it, will ya?"  
>"I-I'm sorry!"<br>Liz bent over, quickly picking up the milk carton the other person had dropped. She inspected the side as she noticed the big, white puddle of milk that had spread on the floor. A big tear ran over the surface of the milk carton, nearly having ripped it in half.  
>The other person grabbed the carton from Liz her hands, shaking his head at the sight of the tear and muttering something in a language unknown to the Hungarian woman. "Everything here is just a shitty quality." He added as he looked up at Liz, shaking his head. Only now Liz got a good look at the man. He wasn't incredibly tall; but she had to look up to see his face nonetheless. He was pale, had red eyes, pale hair, and most of all, he looked so <em>familiar<em>. But she didn't really think anything of it; he could just as well be a regular here, just like herself.  
>"I'm sorry, I wanted to reach for something, but it was too high and I couldn't grab it and-"<br>"Stop it, will ya? 'Tis okay. Wasn't keen on the milk, anyway. Plus, I haven't paid for it yet."

Liz tried to smile, but she just shrugged it off instead. All she wanted now was to get home already. With a small nod as goodbye she turned around, picking up her basket, along with the now-empty box of cereal. She shuffled some of the cornflakes aside, trying to make the floor look a little reasonable until someone came to clean it up.  
>Another man walked past Liz, stopping by the man she had spoken briefly to earlier.<br>"Gilbert, how long do you take to get a carton of milk?"  
>Liz turned around at the familiarity of the name. A colleague? Client? She was unable to recall, and frowned to that fact. The white haired –perhaps albino?- man shrugged at the other man and glanced at his watch.<br>"About… Half an hour…"  
>Liz stood up and stroked back a few strands of hair, her eyes widening at a sudden recollection of thoughts and memories, slapping her hand over her mouth to stop herself from gasping, or her jaw from falling open in surprise.<p>

"… Gilbert?"  
>The man turned around, facing Liz. "Yo, that's me." There was no mistaking it, the face was the same, though sharper, and the voice was as she remembered it, though deeper. It had to be him.<br>".. Gilbert.. Beilschmidt? Oh God please say it's you."  
>The man –apparently Gilbert- frowned at the woman knowing his name, tilting his head in confusement until it suddenly hit him.<br>"Liz? _Mein Gott_ 'stat YOU? Jesus you're so.. Different!"  
>"I hope for you that you mean that I look great."<br>Gilbert just nodded quickly, the other man –tall, blond- clearly confused, not particularly recognizing the woman Gilbert was talking to. He just excused himself and left soon after, Gilbert not paying any particular attention to him. He just grinned at Liz, and she just thought for a moment. Maybe.. Just _maybe_ he hadn't been a dick all along.  
>"Man, I haven't seen you in <em>ages<em>! Hey, are you taller than me now?"  
>"Actually, I am. Liz, your hair! 'Tis so long! I barely recognised ya, why'd ya let it grow?"<br>The brunette grabbed a few strands of her hair and twisted it between her fingers. "Why? Don't you think it looks great on me?" Gilbert just shrugged it off, not keen on answering that question.  
>"Well, at least ya look like a woman no-"<br>"WHAT WAS THAT?"  
>"Nothing!"<p>

Liz huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, muttering a 'good' between her teeth. "Say, Gilbert, why are you back here, anyway? And who was that other guy with you?"  
>"'Twas my little brother, Ludwig. He owns some bars back here, an' I got fired on my previous job. He offered me work as a bartender here."<br>Liz smiled and nodded slowly, listening to his story. She threw a quick glance at her watch, noticing how late it already was. "Gil, as much as I'd love to catch up, I have to go now. Here, take my phone number. Give me a call sometime, I'll introduce you to my husband!"  
>Gilbert nodded slowly as he noted the number down in his phone.<br>"Ya married, Liz? Jesus, time flies!"


	3. Chapter 2

There we go, second chapter up! Is it wrong that I like overreacting situations like these? ^^;  
>Please enjoy, Rate &amp; Review if you have some time for it! I'd love to get some constructive criticism so I can improve my writing.<br>**Warning: This story is still PrussiaxAustria, not PrussiaxHungary or AustriaxHungary.** I think I'll just keep repeating this just to be sure.

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><p><strong><em>Tones of Broken Strings:<br>Chapter Two_**

"Ah, Liz, what took you so long?"  
>The brunette sighed at the mention of her name and the all too familiar voice. A voice she had been hearing every single day for quite some time now. Her husband. He was sweet, he really was. Well, that was what she kept telling herself. He just constantly panicked and worried, seemingly often about her, and she couldn't help but find it annoying. She was an adult now, she was responsible, the last thing she needed was someone who asked continuously where she was at every given moment.<br>"Like I said, I was at the supermarket.. It just took a little longer because I met an old friend of mine, and, well, we just chatted a little to catch up." It was a simple answer, and needed no further questioning if she had gotten her say in it. She held on a bit tighter to the brown, paper bag she held in her arms with her groceries, making her way through the living room to the kitchen. The house was big; her work left her with plenty of money. They had two floors, but even so there were rooms she found herself using only very rarely.

"... Not the 'bad' kind, right?"  
>Liz frowned as she put the paper bags on the counter, turning to look at her husband. How could he <em>still<em> not trust her?  
>"Roderich, seriously? I don't know how much he changed over the years, I only saw him shortly in the supermarket! But does it really matter? People grow up, you know!" It was not a secret between them what kind of people Liz used to hang with. As a young child, she hung out with only few people; all of them guys. As a teen, she got somewhat enrolled with the more 'shady' kind of people. Often petty thieves and shoplifters, bikers and street kids. It was that period which people called 'finding your place'. Well, she had taken a turn for the better and she had 'found her place' alright, and only few things showed with what kind of people she used to hang with; mainly demonstrated by her strong, louder side and, well, her love for good liquor.<br>Roderich opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out and Liz just walked past him, a frown on her face. She headed to the stairs, her steps firm as she walked up, stopping halfway for a split second. "I'll... I'll just go take a shower, 'kay..?" She sighed, not even paying attention to the Austrian's defeated 'okay' as she walked further up the stairs, straight to the bathroom. She placed a hand to the side of her head, trying to ignore the throbbing headache caused by all the recent stress.

The Hungarian woman sighed in exhaustion as the warm water hit her head, soaking her long hair, making it stick to her face and skin. She leaned her head against the cold, stone tiled wall, seeking some form of support for her heavy head. She didn't know how long she stood like that (fifteen minutes? Half an hour?) but she knew it was time to get out when she heard Roderich play his freaking piano again, her finally soothed headache coming right back 'round the corner again to pester her some more.  
>There was a time -prior to marriage- that whenever Roderich played the piano, everything in Liz her world would be fine, no trouble or single problem would remain. But somehow that spark of magic was just <em>gone<em>. She wrapped herself in a towel, not even bothering with drying her hair as she headed for the stairs. Normally, Liz her footsteps were soft and gentle, even more so when barefoot or wearing socks, but now, as she rushed down the stairs, it sounded like a stampede of buffalos rushing down the stairs at high speed. "C'mon, seriously, not now, Roderich!" She snapped upon reaching the ground floor, sounding more agitated than she had mean to be. The Austrian looked up from his music sheet, startled. The melodic sounds of the piano had come to a rather abrupt halt and silence fell.  
>"I, I was just.."<br>"No, no 'I was just'. Please, just please... Not now, okay?"  
>The only response she received was a short nod and a straight face, but as he stood up and left to God knows where, Liz could not help but feel a little guilty.<p>

"Roddy... Roddy, are you asleep yet?"  
>She gently slid under the covers of the bed as she was finally done with her paperwork, a quick glance on the digital clock on the bedside table telling her it was half past eleven already. She carefully placed a hand on the Austrian's shoulder in front of her, his back turned towards her. She smiled sadly. "C'mon... We shouldn't go to bed angry... I'm really sorry. I was rude, I know... I was just so stressed and all that..."<br>She laid her head on the pillow, staring at the back of Roderich's head. "Please... Please forgive me?"  
>A painful silence followed. It was one of these silences where you had no idea what the other was thinking, but you felt like all thoughts were negative. Liz wondered if Roderich had been asleep and he had not heard her, or if he was just ignoring her to get rid of her for just one night. She bit her lip anxiously, waiting if she would get any answer. The silence was broken shortly by a sigh. The Austrian turned around to face Liz, his gaze distant without his glasses. There was a short smile on his face, though one could question if it was genuine or not.<br>"It's okay, I understand."  
>Liz smiled softly, crawling closer to the other in silence and closing her eyes as she felt two arms wrap gently around her. She fell in a deep, dreamless slumber quite soon after, while Roderich just couldn't get any sleep for about half an hour more, just struggling with his thoughts and troubles, a pained expression on his face.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3

Third chapter guys! I'm sorry it's so late. I had a hard time writing this for some reason. In the end I cropped the chapter so it turned out very short. I'll make my future chapters a bit longer; but this chapter just really disagreed with me for some reason? I hope it looks a little acceptable though! Also; Henk is a cameo for MoLoveAnime. You can forget him if you want, he's not a major character.  
>Please enjoy, Rate &amp; Review if you have some time for it! I'd love to get some constructive criticism so I can improve my writing.<br>**Warning: This story is still PrussiaxAustria, not PrussiaxHungary or AustriaxHungary.**

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><p><em><strong>Tones of Broken Strings:<br>Chapter Three**_

"Yo, seriously? I can really be a bartender here, Luddy?"  
>"<em>Ja<em>, seriously. And stop calling me 'Luddy'.."  
>The albino man whistled through his teeth as he slapped his younger brother on his back. "I see ya got quite the business goin' then, hm? 'M so proud of ya!"<br>The younger held his hand against the side of his head, rubbing his temples slightly and letting a tired sigh escape his lips. "Here, I'll give you a quick run-through of things, okay?" He said softly, to which Gilbert nodded in agreement. The albino followed his brother inside, taking a good look once he laid eyes upon the interior. Nothing special, really, but it had something warm and comfortable, making one want to drink the time away. Very sneaky, brother, very sneaky. But it could just as well be Gilbert himself for he pretty much felt this way about everywhere and at nearly anytime, even in the mornings.  
>"-And I assume you know how the tap works?"<br>Gilbert looked up, a bit baffled. Had Ludwig been talking? He just gave a nod and muttered an 'uh-huh' since that had helped him out of situations like this more than just a few times.  
>Ludwig walked over to a man sitting at the bar - what, really, <em>this<em> early? It had only been noon a little while ago - and motioned for Gilbert to come over to him.  
>"Gil, this is Henk. Now let me explain the situation with him.."<p>

Gilbert swore as the liqiour bottles started to slowly slip from his grip. He sped up his pace to his motorcycle a little, putting the bottles on the ground for a moment in fear of them falling and breaking. Carefully, he placed the bottles in the panniers of his motorcycle. The bottles in one; the crate with beer in the other. He took a glance at his watch and let a sigh escape; so much time was left. He stood there for a moment, thinking. He was reluctant to go back already, and he was bored out of his mind. He took out his cell phone without really thinking, flipping through his contacts until he got an idea. He quickly started searching for the number given to him at his previous stop at the supermarket.

Liz sighed deeply, staring at the papers in front of her with a weary look, her brown hair tied back in a tight ponytail. She rubbed her temples with one hand, noting something down with the other, a black pan tightly clenched between her thin, slender fingers.  
>She loved her work, she really did; but the paperwork was nothing more than a royal pain in the ass and if she could ignore any part of her work it would be that.<br>The brunette was pulled out of her thoughts abruptly as she heard her phone ring. The tune of her currently favourite song filled the heavy silence of her room, the music of 'Rockstar' blasting soon at a full volume. She picked up her phone, slightly reluctant as she assumed it would just be her boss again.  
>"Hello?" Her voice sounded weary and tired, exactly the way she felt at the moment, but if pushed she could work on for hours more; not that she was all that keen to do so though.<br>_"Yo, Liz! Mein got, ya sound like ya need a stiff drink."  
><em>Liz didn't have think about who the voice at the other side of the phone belonged to.  
>"Oh, hi Gil... Why you calling?"<br>_"Well, ya see.."_ The albino started. _"I was around, an' I thought 'why the fuck not go an' see Liz?'. 'Thas been ages, man!"  
><em>Liz sighed and shook her head for a moment though the albino on the other side of the phone could never have seen her doing so. "Well, actually, now is not really a good ti-"  
><em>"I got beer."<br>_"Well why didn't you say so earlier, get the fuck over here."


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